Thursday, June 14, 2012

Wicker Park festival - welcome the ec(h)osystem!

Above: last year's festival ad

… And the Wicker Park festival is back for its second year under the motto “nature pokes back”!

Last year, for the first edition of the Wickerpark Festival, more than 1,500 people attended, and the funds that were amassed were given to the ministry of environment as the team behind the festival participated in the replanting of fire-ravaged areas by helicopter.
This year, the focus is on the sea urchins. The very energetic people behind the festival are working with the Ministry of Environment as well as the Marine Biology Center in Batroun, where Biology students will volunteer to help implement this project by undergoing the artificial insemination process.
The artificial insemination process has nothing to do with the use of chemicals or anything genetically modified, it is basically a repopulation process happening in safe waters, where they ensure urchins repopulate before releasing them into our seas. They are also hoping to implement fishing regulations and quotas with the Ministry of Environment to keep the repopulation process flowing normally.
The Festival itself will take place in an open-air venue in Batroun right by the sea, and will be held on June 29th & June 30th. June 29th will include short-film screenings, ecological fairs, artist exhibitions as well as a series of small acoustic sets. June 30th will basically include the Music Festival, with the following artists set to perform: Karl Mattar, Sae Lis, Who Killed Bruce Lee, The Flying Circus, Zeid & The Wings and The Beirut Groove Collective.
Those of you with zero interest in the environmental causes can still go there for the cool music – as a side effect you would also be doing nature a favor (whether you want it or not!)….